Rare, raw & exhilarating — Selcouth is a visual treat

S elcouth, according to Shiamak Davar, means ‘rare,’ and the performance his group put on under that name is certainly that. Rare, as in rarely has something as ambitious and accomplished been seen on the Indian stage.

Contemporary dance has now been around for over four decades. Brought in by lone pioneers like Astad Deboo, it is practiced by a small number of groups which survive because their rarity value ensures a certain number of corporate entertainment programmes every month. Most of these groups are quite abysmal, lacking in both conceptualisation and execution. I wasn’t a fan of Deboo either, but in recent years his working to Indian themes rather than abstract movements, plus his effort to bring in fusion between Indian classical dance forms and contemporary dance, has resulted in some quite remarkable works.

Shiamak Davar himself has been through the rigorous grind of classical ballet under the watchful eye of Tushna Dallas, another Parsi like him. After he finished his formal training, he embraced contemporary dance, and soon started a school to impart training in it. This has been a huge success story, with classes mushrooming everywhere, and hundreds of students enrolled all over the place.

Courtesy : Dara Acidwalla